In Panchbhaya v. Vulsay Industries Ltd., 2025 ONSC 5370 Justice Koehnen awarded a notice period of 26 months to a 65 year old Lab Manager with 40 years service.
The Judge made a number of interesting comments on the following issues :
- Notice Period Being Exceptional and Therefore Deserving of More than 24 Months :
This was the only job that the Plaintiff ever had in Canada.
He had no practical experience outside this job.
He worked in a specialized industry and position.
A 65 year old is ” nearing the end of their career”.
His age and seniority alone can act as exceptional circumstances, thereby justifying exceeding the 24 month cap.
2. Attacks on Mitigation Efforts :
Notwithstanding that the Plaintiff looked for over a hundred jobs, the Defendant chose to attack his mitigation efforts. In ignoring these concerns, the Judge made the following observations:
They provided no letter of reference or outplacement counselling.
They only paid the Plaintiff his ESA minimums.
Although they gave advance notice that the plant would be shutting down, at the same time they offered retention bonuses for those who stayed on and said that they might be offered other jobs.
The Defendant could not point to a single job that the Plaintiff could have applied for and did not.
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